Recently, in the market of scanner for graphic art, a high precision screening method or FM screening method is become to be popularized in which an image is composed by dots smaller than those in an usual screening method. An ultra high-contrast light-sensitive material is suitable for such high precision screening method, by which a small dot having a high density can be easily formed. Various techniques have been known for forming an ultra high contrast image. These techniques include, for example, a light-sensitive material containing a hydrazine compound described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,929 and a light-sensitive material containing a nucleation accelerating agent described in Japanese Patent Publication Open for Public Inspection (JP O.P.I.) No. 4-98239/1992. Further, a technique for improving the photographic properties of a light-sensitive material is described in JP O.P.I. No. 6-347953/1954, in which a compound capable of releasing a photographically effective group by a redox reaction is added to a light-sensitive material containing a hydrazine compound. However, a light-sensitive material is made to be sensitive to variation in the developing activity of developer by addition of such redox compound and the light sensitivity of the light-sensitive material is apt to become unstable. The above facts result not preferable problems in the light-sensitive material to be applied for a high precision output method or FM screening method. In such screening methods, the reproducibility of dot image (in the linearity and dot quality) is easily varied depending on changing in the development activity of the developer.
On the other hand, a light-sensitive material, particularly a light-sensitive material for graphic art use, is usually processed after imagewise exposure, by an automatic processing machine having four steps of processing i.e., developing, fixing, washing or stabilizing, and drying. In the automatic processing machine, a developing solution, a fixing solution, and washing water or a stabilizing solution are charged in each processing tanks corresponding to the above-mentioned each processing steps, hereinafter these processing solutions are each referred as developer, fixer and stabilizer, respectively. Recently, it is required to shorten the time for processing. It has been usual that the total time for the processing, i.e., the duration between the time at which the fore front of a light-sensitive material is insert into the processing machine and the time the fore front of the light-sensitive material is come out from a drying zone of the processing machine (dry to dry) is 90 seconds or more. However, the processing is recently required to rapidly perform so as the total time to be shoten by 60 seconds or less. Further, it is required to reduce a waste liquid of photographic processing with respect to environment problems. Although there are various ways for reducing the waste liquid, it is effective to reduce the amounts of a repleniser solution for developer and a replenishing solution for fixer replenisher, hereinafter these are referred as developer replenisher and fixer replenisher, respectively.
It has been usual that the replenishing amounts for developer and fixer are each 400 ml per square meter of the light-sensitive material to be processed, respectively. However, it is recently required to reduce the replenishing amounts for developer and fixer by 300 ml per square meter of the light-sensitive material to be processed. The above-mentioned problems are brcome more seriousin such the cases of rapid processing or processing with reduced replenishing. Further, the development activity of developer and the sensitivity of the light-sensitive material is lowered by reducing of the replenishing amount of the developer. As a countermeasure to such problem, a technique is described JP O.P.I. Nos. 63-118746/1988, 63-128338/1988, 63-188132/1988, 63-188133/1988, 2-235044/1990 and 63-101846/1988 in which a compound capable of releasing a base is contained in a hydrophilic colloid layer for maintaining the sensitivity of the light-sensitive material at a constant level.
However, the above-mentioned technique hardly be made practicable particularly in a light-sensitive material containing a hydrazine compound and a redox compound capable of releasing a photographically effective group, because the application of such technique causes degradation in the sensitivity, contrast and quality of dot image, and increasing in fine black spots formed in the unexposed area of light-sensitive material. The black spot formation is a phenomenon peculiarly observed in a light-sensitive material containing a hydrazine compound.
Although it is effective for preventing the environment pollution to use a developer containing no hydroquinone, the above-mentioned problems are further strengthen in such case.